Drive safely this winter season

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Drivers in Strathmore and Wheatland County should take extra caution and be aware of the driving conditions this upcoming winter season.
“Obviously with the town and county, we’re working with regards to what happens… when without fail (there is) a massive snow fall and we’re going to have an ice storm. We’re going to have something affect the highways that is either going to cause a lot of grief or shut down the highways,” said Staff Sergeant Kevin Reilly. “Both the county and the town have worked in the last year or two with regards to implementing plans if we have that same type of disaster happening of Highway 1 being shut down.”
Reilly wants the public to be more aware of the winter conditions they are faced with by taking the proper procedures.
“It just a matter of people being smarter and making them more aware, whether they get snow tires, whether they drive more cautiously in those circumstances. We don’t plan on causing any enforcement (but) something we have to react to,” said Reilly. “(Drivers) have to slow down and be more cautious, and drive within their limits and their vehicles’ limits. Some vehicles are better off than others and you got to recognize what kind of tires you have – if you have snow tires it’s a huge factor.”
Now that the colder weather is here, it will be expected that there will be a higher rate of accidents on the road.
“This coming week it’s expected to be very cold. So we expect a lot of people having accidents and it’s always that first snow storm or icy roads and you get a lot of accidents because people are not used to it and they haven’t slowed down,” said Reilly.
The accident rate in the area has stayed around the same every winter.
Reilly really wants the drivers to slow down and give each other more room.
The RCMP will be running a different campaign every month. For November they will be cracking down on Pedestrian Safety, and in December it will be Impaired Driving.